Mahmoud Abbas and a call to renounce Palestinian violence

I certainly hope that Mahmoud Abbas' call for negotiations with Israel, rather than violence, is sincere. We've heard things like this before from Arafat (at least in English; in Arabic, he rarely made such statements). However, I think the death of Arafat may be a truly watershed event in this troubled region. If Abbas can overcome the factionalism that has typified intra-Palestinian relations for the past 15 years or so, peace may truly have a chance...